Blog Categories:

Arvest Bank associates will be on a “giving mission” the week of Dec. 10, performing random acts of kindness throughout the community. These “Random Acts of Kindness” are part of an initiative that every Arvest branch in communities across North Central Arkansas are taking part in to share in the spirit of giving this holiday season.

Each branch will receive a designated amount of money to donate to the community in any manner they choose. Arvest’s respective “Kindness Krews” at the various bank locations will conduct their random acts of kindness on a particular day so there will be constant giving throughout that week.

“This is a new community project for us and our teams could not be more excited,” said Sally Gilbert, market president of Arvest Bank in Mountain Home, Arkansas. “Our associates take part in several initiatives that benefit our area throughout the year but the element of surprise, especially during the holiday season, adds even more enjoyment to giving back to our community. It’s our hope that the gesture of helping someone, in some way, during the holidays becomes contagious.”

The random acts of kindness may include charitable gestures such as paying for someone’s groceries or gas, paying a utility bill during the winter months, or a host of other creative ideas.

About ArvestArvest Bank, named by Forbes magazine as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” for 2018, operates more than 270 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 14 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 135 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

Arvest Bank in North Central Arkansas and South Central Missouri, along with Ultimate Auto Group, will host the 22nd Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 25 at Big Creek Golf and Country Club in Mountain Home.

Proceeds from the annual tournament benefit up to three area nonprofit organizations that are chosen after an application process. The organizations that will benefit from the 2018 Charity Golf Tournament include Have a Heart Pet Shelter, North Arkansas Adoption Coalition and the West Plains, Missouri Sunrise Rotary Club’s backpack program.

Have a Heart Pet Shelter in Yellville houses homeless dogs and cats and works to find them a loving family who will adopt them. The organization also serves as the location for the Volunteer Low Cost Spay and Neuter Clinic that sterilized more than 800 animals in 2017. The shelter also worms and vaccinates animals in its care.

The North Central Arkansas Adoption Clinic supports children in North Central Arkansas who are victims of abuse or neglect, are in the custody of the state Department of Human Services and are living in foster homes waiting to be adopted. The clinic works with other foster care organizations to raise awareness of the needs of children who are in foster care and to try to increase the number of parents willing to adopt children in foster care.

The West Plains Rotary Club Backpack Program sends home nutritious food in backpacks with students in grades K-5 in the community who face food insecurity at home on weekends. In the spring of 2018, the backpack program sends as many as 125 backpacks of food home every week.

“The work the nonprofit organizations in our area accomplish, and the needs they meet, is nothing short of amazing, but we can’t assume it’s not a struggle to get the job done at times,” said Tom Dame, president and CEO of Arvest Bank in North Central Arkansas. “That’s the entire mission of this annual golf tournament - to take an active role in supporting different organizations each year, and we can’t thank our surrounding communities enough for their continued support for more than two decades.” To date, the charity golf tournament has contributed more than $187,000 to local nonprofit organizations.

The tournament begins with a shotgun start for all players at 8:30 a.m. Golfers will receive prizes for a hole-in-one as well as other prizes. For information on sponsorships or to register a team, contact Tiffany Watkins with Arvest Bank at twatkins@arvest.com or by calling 870-449-7164.

Arvest Bank associates in Harrison lent the Easter Bunny a hand last weekend by decorating homeowners’ yards with colorful, surprise-filled Easter Eggs for children to discover Easter morning.

The project called “Egg My Yard” collected enough donations to provide 3,000 meals to Ozark Share and Care, a local emergency services program that houses a food pantry and provides other necessary items.

The event was a fundraiser for Arvest Bank’s annual 1 Million Meals campaign that collects nonperishable food items and monetary donations to reduce food insecurity in communities.

“This is a great start to our annual campaign and we hope to keep the momentum going during the next two months,” said Scott Tennyson, market president of Arvest Bank in Harrison. “Our associates enjoy getting creative in their fundraising efforts, so we hope our friends and neighbors across the community will take part in these efforts to reduce food insecurity for the months to come.”

Harrison residents had three decorating and price options ranging from an “egged yard” that included 35 eggs for $30, 55 eggs for $40 or 75 eggs for $50.

Arvest Bank’s two-month 1 Million Meals campaign, that is in its eighth year, challenges Arvest associates, customers and the general public to donate nonperishable food items or monetary contributions at any Arvest Bank location across the four-state footprint of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas the bank serves. The goal of the initiative is to collect the equivalent of one million meals that will be donated to local food pantries and other hunger relief organizations or programs. In Harrison, Arvest Bank has partnered with Ozark Share and Care that will receive all of the donations made in the community.

Since Arvest Bank began the 1 Million Meals campaign in 2011, the Harrison community has collected 181,830 meals for local food partners.

Arvest Bank, named by Forbes magazine as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” for 2017, operates more than 250 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 15 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 120 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

Associates at the Arvest Bank branch in Lead Hill will host a father/daughter dance on April 28 from 4-6p.m. in the Lead Hill School cafeteria located at 6966 Milum Road. The event is an opportunity for dads and daughters to spend quality time together, but also is a fundraiser for Arvest Bank’s 8th Annual 1 Million Meals campaign that works to reduce food insecurity in the more than 120 communities Arvest serves.

“Children often want to give back to their community, but often they don’t know how they can help,” said Tiffany Watkins, assistant vice president and marketing director for Arvest Bank in North Central Arkansas. “This dance is focused on quality time for dads and their daughters, and it presents a great opportunity to help other children in our area, and teach about community service as well.”

Tickets to the father/ daughter dance may be purchased at the Arvest Bank branch in Lead Hill located at 167 W. Hwy. 14, or at the dance. Tickets are $10. Light refreshments will be served at the event.

The 1 Million Meals campaign challenges bank associates, customers and community members to participate in fundraising efforts and nonperishable food drives to fight hunger in the more than 120 communities the bank serves. The initiative is needed, as Arkansas ranks 5th among the most food-insecure states in the nation, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Lead Hill residents can participate in 1 Million Meals by dropping off nonperishable food items or monetary donations at Arvest Bank or by calling (866) 952-9523. Arvest credit card customers can donate Arvest Flex Rewards™ points by visiting arvestflexrewards.com and clicking on the 1 Million Meals banner. Every dollar raised through 1 Million Meals provides the equivalent of five meals for those in need.

For questions or additional information on the father/daughter dance, call (870) 449-7260.

About Arvest

Arvest Bank, named by Forbes magazine as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” for 2017, operates more than 250 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 15 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 120 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

Arvest Bank will hold a one-day donation drive called “Feed the Pack Day” in multiple cities across Baxter and Marion Counties to help reduce food insecurity in North Central Arkansas. Donations to Feed the Pack will support area backpack food programs that provide food for school children on weekends and holidays, times when they may not have access to enough food.

Arvest Bank is asking for individuals or groups of volunteers who can assist with the collection drive at various locations.

On Friday, April 27, community volunteers will be stationed at the corner of Hwy. 62 and Cardinal Dr. in Mountain Home from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Volunteers will also be located outside Harps in Mountain Home and Yellville, Walmart in Mountain Home and Flippin, Town and Country in Mountain Home, Shoe Sensation in Mountain Home, and SunFest in Gassville from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. All donations directly support the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas’ Backpack Program, as well as other organizations in Baxter and Marion counties that operate a backpack program.

“The backpack programs in this area serve a widespread need and they are often the difference for hundreds of children between having food and going without a meal,” said Jeff Quick, president and CEO of the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas. “We see an increased need for food during the summer months, when children don’t have access to school meal programs. The financial support we receive now helps us stock our shelves later in the year, when donations begin to get sparse.” Quick said more than 600 children in Baxter County alone are served by backpack programs.

Arvest Bank created Feed the Pack Day in 2016 and has collected $35,000 during the past two fundraising drives, equating to 175,000 meals for local children who are supported by backpack programs. In addition, 4,000 nonperishable food items have been collected during Feed the Pack.

“Our success for these children depends upon two things – the number of volunteers we have to accept donations, and the generosity of the wonderful people in these communities,” said

Tiffany Watkins, assistant vice president and marketing director for Arvest Bank in North Central Arkansas. “A donation of only one dollar provides five meals, so we have the potential to help ensure these children don’t go hungry for the remainder of this year.”

Individual volunteers, groups or businesses who are interested in volunteering for Feed the Pack Day may sign up online here, or they may contact Tiffany Watkins with Arvest Bank at twatkins@arvest.com.

Radio station KTLO 97.9 FM will broadcast live updates on the amount of money raised throughout the day, with the announcement of the grand total planned for 7 p.m. The Baxter Bulletin will post updates on its web site as well.

Feed the Pack Day is a community event that is held in support of Arvest Bank’s 8th annual 1 Million Meals campaign that challenges bank associates, customers and community members to participate in fundraising efforts and nonperishable food drives to fight hunger in the more than 120 communities the bank serves. The initiative is needed, as the United States Department of Agriculture reports more than 12 percent of American households surveyed in 2015 were food insecure.

The goal of the two-month, bank-wide effort is to collect enough food or monetary donations to provide at least one million meals to local, hungry families. Donations to Arvest’s 1 Million Meals campaign may be dropped off at any Arvest Bank location by June 2 or by calling (866) 952-9523. Arvest credit card customers can donate Arvest Flex Rewards™ points by visiting arvestflexrewards.com and clicking on the 1 Million Meals banner, and customers who use the Arvest Go mobile banking app may contribute through the app as well.

About Arvest Bank

Arvest Bank, named by Forbes magazine as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” for 2017, operates more than 250 bank branches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas through a group of 15 locally managed banks, each with its own board and management team. These banks serve customers in more than 120 communities, with extended weekday banking hours at many locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC.

Investment products and services are provided by Arvest Investments, Inc., doing business as Arvest Asset Management, member FINRA/SIPC, an SEC registered investment adviser and a subsidiary of Arvest Bank. Trust services are provided by Arvest Bank. Insurance products are made available through Arvest Insurance, Inc., which is registered as an insurance agency. Insurance products are marketed through Arvest Insurance, Inc., but are underwritten by insurance companies.
Securities and Insurance Products: Not Insured by FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, May Lose Value, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by a Bank or any Bank Affiliate.